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Office-Based Blue Laser Therapy vs Thulium Laser Therapy for Reinke's Edema
Abdul-Latif Hamdan1, Jad Hosri1, Christophe Abi Zeid Daou1
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
Objective:
To compare the treatment outcomes of patients with Reinke's edema (RE) who were treated in-office using the blue laser vs those treated in-office using the thulium laser.
Study Design:
Retrospective case-control study.
Methods:
The medical records and video recordings of patients who underwent office-based thulium laser therapy for RE between November 2018 and July 2019, and office-based blue laser therapy for RE between November 2023 and March 2024 in a tertiary referral center were reviewed. The primary outcome measures used in this study were the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) score and disease regression based on the laryngeal examination performed before and after therapy.
Results:
Twenty-two patients were included in this study. They were divided into 2 subgroups, 12 patients with 22 lesions who underwent office-based thulium therapy and 10 patients with 17 lesions who underwent office-based blue laser therapy. There was no significant difference in the decrease in the mean VHI-10 score following surgery between those treated with the thulium laser vs those treated with the blue laser (10.5 ± 13.15 vs 8.2 ± 5.98, P = 0.657). Nine out of 22 lesions (40.9%) treated with thulium laser regressed completely compared to 9 out of 17 lesions (52.9%) treated with a blue laser. The difference in disease regression between the two subgroups was not statistically significant (P = 0.455).
Conclusions:
Blue laser and thulium laser can be used interchangeably in-office for the treatment of RE with no significant difference in patient self-perceived improvement in voice quality and disease regression. A larger study using objective measures is warranted.
